With the rapid development of portable electronic devices, there has been tremendous research in the area of rechargeable batteries, which are used to power such portable devices. As a result, many different rechargeable battery chemistries have been developed, such as lithium-metal and lithium compound chemistries, which have been used to form the electrodes (e.g. anode or cathode) in such batteries, due to their highly negative redox potential and high theoretical specific capacity. Furthermore, other batteries have been developed that use various metal-based electrodes, or metal compound-electrodes, such as zinc-metal type rechargeable batteries for example. The development of such metal-electrode rechargeable batteries has been limited because of the problems associated with the reversibility of the deposition-dissolution process that occurs at the interface of the electrodes and the electrolyte in such batteries. In particular, such problems have impeded the performance of such metal-electrode batteries and have reduced their reliability for use in commercial applications. The limited reversibility of the deposition-dissolution process is due to the formation of a non-homogeneous film on the metal-anode surface, which causes a non-uniform current density to form across the metal surface under an applied current or voltage potential. The film, referred to as a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film, includes various homogeneous and heterogenous reaction products, which is a result of the reaction that occurs between the interface of the metal electrodes or metal-based compound electrodes and the electrolyte solution.
The inhomogeneity of the created SEI film forms unwanted conduction pathways, which have different solid state conductivities, such as inorganic layer conductivities and organic layer conductivities in the case of lithium-ion batteries, which, in turn, cause preferential deposition or dissolution at some specific sites within the battery. This results in uneven deposition and dissolution of the metal at the electrode surface of the battery. Batteries that utilize conventional aprotic electrolytes, such as lithium salts dissolved in a carbonate-based solvent, react to form several products, as well as species with Li—C (lithium-carbon) bonds, which contribute to the complicated surface chemistry of the lithium material. These various surface reactions cause the formation of insoluble surface species. For example, surface films formed on the lithium metal, lithium based compounds or other metals are heterogeneous in nature, and they can be easily cracked due to mechanical or chemical processing that occurs during lithium deposition and dissolution, while some active sites may also be exposed. Due to these heterogeneous deposition-dissolution mechanisms, acicular crystals or arborescence shape of lithium or other metal are formed, which are referred to as dendrites. The continuous formation and growth of the dendrites cause short-circuits to be formed between the structures forming the electrodes of the battery. This results in the irreversible loss of the electrical storage capacity of the battery and the development of reduction products that passivate the newly-formed surface, which is undesirable for such metal-anode type batteries, due to the negative effects the dendrites have on the safety of the battery and the operating life of the battery.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of recharging a battery, such as a battery that utilizes a metal electrode or that utilizes metal-based compound electrodes, that are subject to dendritic growth, which is capable of preventing or at least slowing the rate of such dendritic growth or precipitation at the surface of the electrodes of the battery. In addition, there is a need for a method of charging a battery, such as a metal-electrode or metal-based compound electrode battery, while extending the operating life of the battery.